Incinerator for treating both liquid and solid material

ABSTRACT

An incinerator comprising a grating, a burner and ash receiver beneath the grating, means above the grating for peripherally restraining garbage therein while admitting hot gases to the periphery of said garbage, and means for treating the gases evolved in the incinerator to precipitate out noxious components. The incinerator may comprise a boiler for evaporating liquids, special means facilitating the removal of cinders, and means for supplying the incinerator without permitting the escape of noxious gases while this is being done.

United States Patent [72] Inventor [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS Fir-min Alexandre Maurice Fabry 9, avenue de Huy, Compiegne,Oise, France m m m W d M m t m m PM e u S mr m 06.! r. ne e w v h aua etfo H CBG wW 689 J m 662 m 999 H 111. 0 [ll .m

mu. 075 487 y W 944 am 662 m ,3 nn 331 PA ABSTRACT: An incinerator comand ash receiver beneath the for peripherally restrainin hot gases tothe periphery of said treating the gases evolved in the inci noxiouscomponents. The incinerator ma for evaporating liquids, special meansfac of cinders, and means for supplying the permitting the escape ofnoxious done.

110/8 F23g5/l2 l10/7,8,8 (A) 8(C),18

[5 4] INCINERATOR FOR TREATING BOTH LIQUID Ltw mm Mm mm D6 mm us mmm 0mrs S o 0m u. N8 mk A1 UIF MUM PATENTED FEB 9 I97! SHEET 1 OF 4PATENTEDFEB SIB?! 3,561,378

same 0F 4 32 FIG.2

PATENTED FEB 9 Ian sum 3 or 4 PAT'EINTED FEB 9 l97| sum 4 or 4INCINERATOR FOR TREATING BOTH LIQUID AND SOLID MATERIAL SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION This invention relates to the destruction of all sorts ofhousehold, industrial, or agricultural trash and garbage, regardless ofwhether it is in liquid or solid form.

The known apparatus capable of incinerating various types of materialare rarely satisfactory, either because they work well with only certainparticular material or because the residues do not conform to legalrequirements relating to atmospheric and water pollution, or becausethey do not treat liquids, or because they are of a rudimentary natureand cannot prevent excessively violent combustion. The treatment ofplastic materials is particularly difficult and only small quantitiescan be treated at a time. Their principal defect resides in the factthat the waste burns wherever it comes in contact with the startingflame. There is consequently mutual self destruction of the twocombustions and the blowing of the auxiliary flame andcombustion-supporting air against the material being burned and theashes causes a large quantity of ashes and light products to be carriedaway into the atmosphere. It is therefore necessary to provide a smokescrubber, the principal function of which is to put out the burningproducts which are emitted. However, the presence of water in contactwith the combustion gases results in the formation of acids whichpollute the air before they pollute the water. Moreover, the treatmentof the smoke consists only of dust removal, without taking into accountthe chemical composition of the smoke which may still contain noxiousgas and vapors such as acids, or toxic gases.

The object of the invention is to eliminate the above disadvantages andprovide an incinerator which can destroy all the usual residuals,whatever their nature or proportions, and which will exhaust to theatmosphere only fumes which contain neither dust noxious gas, or noxiousvapors.

The invention consists in introducing solid material which may beaccompanied by liquid material into a distributor which has as itsessential characteristic the fact that it concentrates a substantialmass of material above a grating so that this mass is externally boundedin part by solid walls and in part by the multiple surfaces formed bythe natural slopes of the material itself. These are directly in contactwith the hot ambient gases. Under the grating is a fire box forreceiving fuel under a pressure so high that the hot gases are forcedthrough the products on the grating, a single receiver being positionedunder the grating so that the solids or liquids which have passestherethrough are kept close to the flame. Weighted dampers are mountedaround the grating so that if the hot gases in the fire chamber reach apressure predetermined by said weights, due to obstruction of thegrating, the gases may escape directly at the periphery thereof tosupply external heat to the products thereon.-

Another object of the invention is to provide the device with a fire boxhaving double walls separated by an air space, the outer wall beingdirectly heated by the burnt gases from the furnace, and the inner wallreceiving the liquids to be destroyed when these are sufficientlyabundant to require separate treatment.

The invention also relates to a device for preheating the combustion airas well as for regulating the combustion, the heattreatment of residualgases and the fluid treatment of said gases, as will appear more clearlyfrom the following description of a representative incinerator taken byway of example, and illustrated on the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through the apparatus according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through an associated device for the liquidtreatment of fumes;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through an alternative embodiment of thedistributor which is especially adapted to the treatment of pulverulentproducts;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section through one of the connections at a floorwhen the incinerator is fed through chutes;

FIG. 5 is a schematic elevational view showing a device which isbatch-fed from containers; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic elevational view of the apparatus for disposing ofcinders.

The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 comprises a fire box 1 containing theflame of a burner 2 supplied by a suitable fuel. I! is equipped at itsbottom with a receptacle 3 and covered by a grating 4, shown here as abasket, which grating is encircled by weighted dampers 5.

In normal operation the grating 4 is loaded with material to beincinerated. The burner 2 maintains in the firebox l a pres sure whichpermits the hot gasses resulting from the total combustion to passthrough the grating and the products thereon, so as to positively insureadequate drying, heating and combustion. For this reason the burner 2 issupplied with an excess of air to permit this combustion. The pressurein the firebox I is kept constant and is correlated with the regulationof the burner 2, by appropriately weighted dampers 5. As a result, whenthe grating 4 is partially or totally obstructed, the dampers 5 open inexact proportion to the need to reduce pressure in the firebox I so thatit may function normally.

Above the grating 4 is a distributor 6 for the products to be destroyed,which are supplied through the supply chute 7. This distributorcomprises a plurality of wall members 6a which are frustoconical orfrustopyramidal in shape and disposed as shown in the FIG. so that theperiphery of the mass of material to be destroyed is partially definedby the naturally sloping sides thereof, beginning at the lower edge ofone of the wall members, beneath which the material slides freely untilit reaches the wall member therebeneath, and partially by the wallmembers themselves. The temperature inside the chamber 8 causesdistillation, drying, and burning of the material at the periphery ofthe distributor 6. The resulting decrease in volume causes a slightsettling of the material as well as spreading toward the periphery ofthe distributor. The distributor thus considerably increases the surfaceof the material in heat-exchanging contact with the encirclingcombustion chamber, thus providing better contact between the materialto be burned and the hot gases in that chamber which dry, evaporate andburn the material. In fact, in the absence of the distributor 6, theproducts would rest on the grating 4 as a compact mass which would havea relatively small surface in contact with the chamber 8. At the sametime distributor 6 contains the material to be destroyed in a volume ofpredetermined dimensions and prevents it from blocking the dampers 5.The upper part of the supply chute 7 may also comprise a plurality ofwall members 7a positioned as shown in FIG. I and serving substantiallythe same purpose as the members 60.

It may be that some material will fall through the grating 4. This maybe solid, liquid resulting from the melting of material which can bemelted, or liquids which have not been completely burned or evaporated.In all these cases, the materials falling through the grating 4 land inthe receptacle 3 just below the flame in the firebox 1, so that theycontinue to burn near this flame due to the excess air alreadydescribed. However, the quantity of material passing through the gratingrepresents only a very small part of the total volume treated.

When, on the contrary, there is a large quantity of liquid to bedestroyed in proportion to the solid material, or even dangerous orhighly flammable products, it is preferable to treat them separately ina special furnace 9 above the device hereinbefore described. Thisfurnace has two walls 9a and 9b separated by an air space. This makes itpossible to avoid having the same wall in contact with both the hotgases from 8 and the liquids in the chamber 10. In effect, such a wallwould be overheated in certain places and relatively cool in others,which would lead to flow and distortion, and would also produce zones ofreduced resistance to corrosion due to excessive temperatures. On thecontrary, the double-wall arrangement makes it possible to have an innerwall in bontact only with the liquids to be treated and an outer wall 9bin contact only with hot gases. Moreover, this wall 9b is completelysurrounded by hot gases without being subjected to the influence of thecooler outer walls of the apparatus. As a consequence of thisarrangement and the air space through which heat is exchanged betweenthe walls 9b and 9a an extremely uniform temperature for treating theliquids in the chamber 10 is obtained. These are introduced through aconduit 11 controlled by a nonreturn valve 12 for security againstexplosions, and supplied by a variable flow volumetric pump 13, from areservoir 14. It is also possible to replace the space between the twowalls 90 and 9b by a refractory lining which is a poor conductor ofheat. At the same time the bars of the grating 4 may advantageously behollow or consist of two angle irons placed one above the other andseparated by a refractory material.

in order that the vapors from the combustible liquids may beself-igniting a rectangular passage 15 is provided through which hot airis admitted from outside the wall 9b to the interior of the wall 9a.This air comes in just above the top of the liquid, not shown. The gasleaving through the upper orifice 16 also mixes with the hot air fromthe peripheral passage 17 an; may continue to burn if their combustionhas not been completed.

The mixture then passes through a conduit 18 into a ch: mber 19 whichencircles a firebox 20 supplied by a burner 21. A spiral baffle 22 ismounted between the walls 23 and 24 to facilitate the heat exchange. Asmall part of the gas may also pass through a peripheral passage 25between the wall 26 and the outer casing of the apparatus so as to avoidoverheating and local cooling of the gas. Finally, at the outlet, aturbulence-producing device 27 mixes the burnt gases exhausted from 20as well as the heated gases from 19 and the small quantity of gas from25 into a homogenous mass.

This device makes it possible, whenever necessary to provide fromthermal heating of the gases much more efficaciously than is the casewith a process in which a flame is simply brought into contact with thegases to be burned, In such a process, the flame cuts itself a pathwhile pushing back the gases without mixing with them and finallyheating only the small part thereof in direct contact with itsperiphery. Thus the fumes are not heat treated so as to bring all thegases to the desired temperature, as is the case with the presentinvention.

By way of example, when chlorinated solvents, such as carbontetrachloride, are being destroyed, the phosgene which is the combustionproduct is a highly toxic gas and heat treatment of the combustionproducts is essential in order to destroy this phosgene.

In addition to the thermal treatment of the fumes, which is primarilyintended to destroy the unstable or combustible gases by transformingthem into simpler compounds, it is almost always necessary to subjectthe gases to a water treatment in order to remove those compounds havingan avidity for water, especially anhydrides and acids, which cannot beexhausted into the atmosphere without polluting it and causing theformation of noxious smog. For example, the destruction of chlorinatedplastic materials such as polyvinyl chloride, which is extremelywidespread, or chlorinated solvents, such as those previously mentioned,lead to the production of chlorine and hydrochloric acid on contact withthe humidity of the atmosphere, while the burning of petroleum residues,which often contain sulfur, leads to the production of its anhydride andsulfuric acid. For this reason, the outlet 28 of the casing 26 isconnected to the inlet 29 of the water treating apparatus shown in FIG.2.

This comprises in the first place a heat-exchanger 30 provided withfinned tubes 31 through which the gas passes. These tubes are externallycooled by a transverse current of fresh air drawn in through a duct 32.The gas, which has thus been cooled without being diluted, reaches theimpregnating chamber 33 in a reduced volume. it is there sprayed withwater through nozzles 34, using a quantity such that it is completelyvaporized in the chamber and the gases leaving the chamber are sohumidified that, depending on their temperature, the liquid supplied isnot liquefied, but the other products present or formed by contact withthe liquid, which have a vapor tension and condensation temperaturegreater than that of the liquid supplied, are liquefied and captured bythe baffle 35, which serves to bring about a uniform dispersion of theproducts and insure a contact which intercepts, agglomerates, and drainsthe condensed products toward the outlet 36.

The gas then passes through another chamber 37 similar to the precedingchamber, into which more water is sprayed through the nozzles 38 so asto obtain a complete saturation of all the gas at the same time as anintensive cooling. The liquid sprayed in at 34 is thus condensed in thechamber 37 along with all the other products formed or dissolved and incondition to be condensed. The chemical reactions which were notcompleted in the preceding chamber are also completed; the solidinsoluble particles are made heavy by impregnation and coating; and thegas being treated if finally homogenized and slowed down by the choiceof the sections and the decrease in volume due to cooling anddissolution.

All the condensed products which have been dissolved or deposited arewashed away by draining them toward the opening 39 at the bottom of thebaffle 40 which serves the same purpose as the baffle 35. Theconsumption of water is thus limited to the quantity absorbed in thechemical reactions and used to impregnate the insoluble components, plusa quantity evacuated during filtering and some entrained by the gas. Itshould be noted that this consumption is relatively small because thegas is saturated when at as small a volume as possible and at atemperature approaching the ambient temperature. On the other hand,their low speed considerably reduces the mechanical entrainment ofproducts by the gases.

The gases leaving the bafile 40 have a relatively low temperature andare therefore near saturation. For this reason they are mixed in achamber 41 with the reheated air from the conduit 32, the mixture beingdrawn along by a suction fan which exhausts them to the chimney. Thisheating of the gases modifies their vapor tension and causes a dilutionwhich avoids any unwanted condensation. The gases which are releasedthrough the chimney are neither noxious, not capable of polluting theatmosphere and are small in quantity.

The liquid injected into the chambers is preferably water, but otherliquids may be used. The product evacuated at36 is small in volume andquite concentrated, so that it may be recovered, or if destroyed, itsdestruction is much easier and can be conveniently controlled. Theproduct evacuated at 39, which is larger in volume, but lessconcentrated, may be filtered and permitted to settle so that thefiltrate may be recycled at 34, in order to reduce the consumption ofwater and avoid the problem of eliminating the product released at.39.

In order to cool the casing of the incinerator proper and provide thehot air supplying the fire boxes 1 and 9, multiple vertical walls areprovided and a suction fan 43 is rppunted at the top. The ambient air issucked in by this suction fan through the air inlets 44 and movesupwardly in the outer jacket 45 before reaching the top. There only partof the air descends through the inner jacket 46, in which it continuesto be heated by contact with the chamber 8 and descends to the bottom ofthe apparatus, to again rise and pass out through the openings 47 abovethe weighted dampers 5. In fact, if all the cooling air were drawn intothe firebox, this would lead to an excess of air unfavorable tocombustion, whereas conversely, if only the amount of air required forcombustion were used for cooling, this would be insufficient to decreasethe temperature of the walls to an acceptable value. In order toregulate the proportion of air which descends through the jacket 46. adamper 48 in front of the suction fan 43 is used, so as to be able tomodify the proportion of the air directly evacuated by the suction fan.It is also possible for the admission of carbureting air at 47 to becompletely eliminated, in which-case the apparatus functions strictly asa heater, using only the flame 2, with satisfactory efficiency.

In practice, the lack of homogeneity of the material and the continualvariation of their Characteristics and quantity imply variablerequirements for cooling air and carbureting air, as well as for heatsupplied. The operation of the apparatus as a whole therefore requiresconstant regulation. This may be automatically obtained by a methodwhich will now be described.

It should first be noted that the color and polluting effects of thefumes leaving the apparatus are the result of various factors, includingthe temperatures in the fireboxes l, and 20, as well as their quantityand dust content, but especially of their temperature at the moment atwhich they contact the atmosphere. This latter temperature has a veryclear effect on their color due to the rapidity of the reactions andcondensations. For this reason, in accordance with the invention, thetemperature of the fumes at the moment of their release can be used asthe basis for automatic surveillance and regulation of the entireapparatus. This temperature may in fact be measured at various pointsalong the path traversed by the gas, provided that a correctinterpretation is made.

i It is possible, for example, to position at the outlet 28 of thejacket 26 a thermostat 49 which is adjustable, and consider that thereis a proper adjustment of this thermostat for each product or mixture ofproducts which is to be destroyed. In effect, when the temperaturerecorded by the thermostat 49 rises, this indicates that the combustionin the firebox is active, which is favorable until the temperaturereaches one above which there is a risk that too much gas will beproduced, with consequent less complete combustion, leading to anuncontrollably violent reaction in the case of certain materials.

An automatic regulation is then provided in a manner such that when thethermostat warns that a predetermined temperature has been exceeded, theauxiliary burner 2 is stopped, thus diminishing the supply ofcarbureting air at 47 in order to slow down the combustion. For thispurpose the regulator may act on the motorized damper 48 or on the speedof the suction fans 43 and 42, or control a motorized damper foradmitting external air, which damper controls the passage through whichthe fumes travel. When, on thecontrary, the thermostat 49 warns that thetemperature has dropped below a predetermined value, this indicates thatthe combustion has slowed down and causes an inverse regulation of thesame apparatus in order to prevent flameless smoky operation andreinstitute combustion. This automatic regulation results in steadyopera tion and yield with respect to both air pollution and fume colorat the same time that it makes judicious use of the auxiliary fuel andprotects the material being burned against excessive or insufficientheat of combustion and prevents the waste of fuel. The thermostat 49 maybe positioned at the outlet of the heat exchanger 30 and control thesupply of liquid at 34 in order to keep the temperature andconcentration of the condensate evacuated at 36 constant.

Alternatively, when treating pulverulent products such as sawdust, theabove-described distributor 6 may be replaced by the special distributorshown in FIG. 3. This comprises an external jacket 50 and at least oneinner chimney 51. This wall and chimney are pierced by registeringorifices and joined together by metallic members 52 i which slopeupwardly toward the center. On the other hand, the top of the space 8 isclosed by the partitions 53. ln this way the pulverulent material whichcollapses forms natural slopes under the lower end of the chimney 51 aswell as under the edges of the roof members 52. This closes thecorresponding spaces, and, as in the previous example, leaves a largesurface of the material in contact with the hot gases. In fact, all thehot gases which have not passed through the layer of materialimmediately above the grate 4 must pass through radial passagewaysbetween the roof members 52 and the corresponding sloping surfaces ofthe material in order to pass from the peripheral space 8 to the centralchimney-51 before being exhausted through the upper end 54 thereof justunder the furnace 9. it follows that this device ensures heating,evaporation and combustion in the very heart of the mass of material.

In order to assure the proper feeding of material to be incinerated, ithas been seen that these are introduced through a supply chute 7 and itis important that this chute be kept close by a cover 55 so that it willnot act as an inlet for unwanted air. In effect, all of the apparatusabove the grate 4 operates at subatmospheric pressure, so that the chutemust be constantly blocked.

When the chute 7 is directly connected to a garbage disposal chute at ahigher level, which may serve several floors, the garbage-disposal chute56 may be provided. just below each input station 57, with a trap 58which pivots about a horizontal axis 59 balanced by a counterweight 60,so that it is normally in the closed position shown in FIG. 4, but canbe easily swung to its open position. Once it has been closed, a pawl 61mounted to swing about an axis 62, and free to swing in the directionindicated by the arrow 63 latches the counterweight to hold the trap inits closed position. A calibrated spring 64 under the end 61a of thepawl 61 resists swinging of the assembly comprising the weight and trap58 in the direction of the arrow 65.

In this way, when garbage is thrown into the input station 57, orarrives thereat from a higher floor through the chute 56, it accumulateson the trap 58 until its weight is sufficient to cause the pawl 61 toovercome the resistance of the spring 64 and release the counterweight60. At this moment the trap swings in the direction indicated by thearrow 65 and reaches the end of its path of travel as determined by thestrength of the spring. All the garbage then drops into the lower partof the chute and the shock resulting when the end of said path of travelis reached helps clear off from the trap 58 any garbage which may haveadhered thereto. The trap is then swung back by the weight 60 andreturns to its horizontal closed position at which it is latched by thepawl 61. This makes it possible to keep the chute airtight and, at thesame time, when the chute 56 serves several floors, avoid the suddendropping of material through too great a height, which could causedisturbances in the chute 7 of the incinerator. In this case, at eachfloor the material is stopped by a new trap and falls each time througha short distance, without accumulating the energy which would resultfrom a direct fall for several floors.

When, on the contrary, the incinerator is supplied from containersespecially designed to collect the material from several droppingpoints, it is advantageous to use the device shown in FIG. 5 in which itmay be seen that each container 66 is mounted on wheels 67 and providedwith U-shaped members 68 and an upper rim 69 designed to fit into theentrance to the chute 7. This container may be rolled horizontally alongthe horizontal supports 70 of a cradle 71 which can roll on wheels 72and 73 over two inclined rails 74, being drawn by two cables 75 wound atthe top of the FIG. on a lifting winch not shown. In this way, afterhaving placed the container 66 on the supports 70 of the cradle 71, thewinches are so actuated as to lift the entire assembly. This lifts thecontainer obliquely in the direction of the rails 74 until the U-shapedmembers 68 engage the studs 76 at the entrance to the chute 7. Thisswings the cradle 71 and the container66, which is latched thereto,about the axis of the studs 76. At the sametime, the cover 55 of thechute 7, which is pivoted at 77, comprises a projecting edge 78 whichslides along the edge of the container and automatically opens thecover. At the end of its movement, as shown in phantom lines on FIG. 5,the cover 55 is completely open and the container is swung to anupside-down position with its rim 69 in the entrance of the chute 7. Thechute is thus kept substantially airtight, and the capacity of thecontainer to be positioned above the chute may be varied in dependenceon the quantity of material already in the chute, so that the apparatusalways operates with an optimum charge. Naturally, when the container 66is empty, the winches may be operated in the opposite direction torestore the container to its original position.

After the incinerator has operated for a certain length of time, thecinders must be manually removed through an opening provided for thatpurpose. It is also possible to provide for automatic cinder removal byusing the device shown on FIG. 6. It will be particularly noted that thebottom of the grating 4 is divided into two parts 79, each pivoted abouta horizontal axis 80. The end of each part 79 is pivotally attached to alink 81, the other end 82 of which is slidable on a horizontal slideway83, when appropriately actuated. When at rest, as shown in FIG. 6, thetwo links 81 are vertical so that they support the entire weight of thematerial resting on the grating 4 without transfering any force to thedriving mechanism. When, on the contrary, the two ends 82 are movedhorizontally apart by their mechanical control, the two parts of thegrate 79 swing away from the vertical, as shown in phantom lines on theFIG. The same arrangement is provided for the receptacle 3 which isdivided into two parts 84 actuated by two links 85 like the links 81.

When the two parts 79 of the grating and the two parts 84 of thereceptacle are brought to the vertical, all the ashes, cinders, andsolid material supported by the grating 4 is free to fall vertically inthe direction indicated by the arrow 86 toward the bottom of theapparatus. from which they may be removed by appropriate means. In orderto insure uninterrupted operation of the apparatus, it is neverthelessnecessary to retain the material to be incinerated in the distributor 6above these ashes during the time required to remove the cinders. Thisaccomplished by a series of arcuate bars 87 which an movable betweenseveral pairs of grooved friction rollers 88 which act as guides. Thesebars are divided into two symmetrical groups so that the forces exertedby these bars on the material as they penetrate it compensate for eachother. In particular, it will be seen that, when in rest position, thebars 87 are located on opposite sides of the hearth, in the cool zonebeneath the three triple walls thereabove. On the contrary, when thebars slide in the direction of the arrow 89 on the friction rollers 88,they move along a circular path, and their ends 90 pass through suitableopenings in the walls and then slide under the distributor 6, and forcea passage through the material to be incinerated until they reach theposition shown in phantom lines on FIG. 6.

This rrovement is produced by the mechanism shown on the FIG., whichcomprises, at each side of the apparatus, two idler rollers 91 and 92and a driving roller 93. On the other hand, for each of the bars 87there is a cable 94 attached to the lower end 95 of the bar, which afterpassing over the roller 92, is attached to the upper end of a spring 96,to the lower end of which is attached another cable 97, the lower end ofwhich is wound, one full turn for example, around the roller 93, andthen fastened to that roller. Another cable 98 is also attached to thisroller, and may be simply an extension of the other cable. This cable isalso wound around the roller 93 and attached to the end 95 of the bar 87after being wound around the roller 91.

In this way, when the two rollers 93 are driven one turn in thedirection 99, all the bars 87 are individually driven in the directionindicated by the arrow 89, into the position shown in phantom lines onFIG. 6. However, if one or more of them encounter substantial resistancefrom the material to be incinerated, this results in an increase in thetension on spring 96 until the bars are capable of overcoming thisresistance. Finally, if some of them encounter a resistance too great toovercome, for example, if their ends 90 encounter solid bodies of acertain size, they may stop completely, in which case the spring 96partly or completely absorbs the movement of the cable 97 produced bythe roller 93. Each bar is individually controlled, so that no excessiveforce is exerted on the material, and consequently on the distributor 6,and, on the other hand, all the material is supported by the bars, evenwhere solid bodies have prevented the penetration of one or more bars,since at those points the solid bodies themselves are immobilized by thepressure exerted thereon by these bars.

At the end of the path of travel of this device, that is to say when theroller 93 has completed the desired rotation, Le, a complete turn in theexample shown this actuates a terminal contact (limit switch) whichautomatically actuates the devices for opening the grate and thereceptacle which have already been described. All the solid productscontained on the grate 4 and under the bars 87 falls freely in thedirection of the arrow 86. Naturally, during this operation the burner 2is shut off.

After this material has fallen, the mechanism for operating the links 81and operates in the reverse direction, closing the grate and receptacle;Terminal contacts complete these two movements before initiating thereverse movement extracting the bars 87 by driving the rollers 93 in adirection opposite to that of the arrow 99, thus causing the cables 98to extract the bars which return to their original position. At the endof this last movement, the apparatus may be immediately started upagain, so that it is stopped for only a short time, which is too shortfor the fire to go out, and without requiring the apparatus to beemptied.

It will thus be seen that in addition to operating very safely and notpolluting the atmosphere, the apparatus according to the invention maybe operated entirely automatically, and practically without supervision.

It will of course be appreciated that the embodiment which has just beendescribed has been given purely by way of illustration and may bemodified as to detail without thereby departing from the basicprinciples of the invention.

I claim:

1. Incinerator for garbage and the like comprising:

a grating (4) for supporting material to be incinerated,

a distributor (6) for peripherally restraining material placed on saidgrating in such manner as to expose substantial portions of the lateralsurfaces of said material to the gases within said incinerator,

a chute (7) positioned to supply material to said distributor,

a fuel burner (2) beneath the grating which operates under a pressuresufficient to force the gases produced thereby through the material onthe grating,

a receptacle (3) beneath the grating and burner flame positioned toreceive and expose to said flame any material which may drop throughsaid grate,

and dampers (5) at the periphery of said grating biased to open andpermit gases from said burner to flow over the periphery of saidmaterial whenever the pressure produced by the burner exceeds apredetermined value.

2. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 in which the peripheral walls ofthe distributor comprise a plurality of spaced rings (6a which slopeupwardly and outwardly.

3. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 in which the distributor comprisesan external wall (50) pierced by a plurality of orifices and at leastone central chimney (51) pierced by orifices aligned with the orificesin said external wall and connected thereto by a sloping cover (52)extending between the upper edges of the orifices in said chimney andouter wall.

4. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 comprising a small boiler (9) and apump (13) for supplying liquids thereto, said boiler being positioned inthe path of gases arising from the grating (4) and distributor (6), saidboiler being formed by two walls (9a, 9b spaced 'by a poor conductor ofheat and provided with lateral openings (15) to admit hot gas and anupper outlet (16) for evacuation of gaseous or vaporized products intothe incinerator above the grating.

5. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 enclosed by double walls definingtherebetween at least one space (45) connected to admit ambient air atits bottom and lift said air to its top, as said air cools said walls,means (43) for evacuating a portion of said lifted air from saidincinerator, means (48) for regulating the amount of air evacuated andmeans (46) for conducting the remainder of said lifted air to saiddistributor to assist in the combustion of the material therein,

6. Incinerator as claimed in claim 5 in which the capacity of said airevacuation means is sufficient to enable it to evacuate all the ambientair admitted through the space between said double walls, so that in theabsence of material to be incinerated, the incinerator may operate as aheater.

7. Incinerator as claimed in claim comprising automatic regulating meansincluding an adjustable thermostat (49) positioned to respond to thetemperature of the gases at the outlet of the apparatus and adapted toregulate the operation of the burner and the evacuation of air when saidtemperature exceeds a predetermined maximum or falls below apredetermined minimum.

8. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 which comprises heat treating meansin which the gas leaving the incinerator passes through a heat exchanger(23) heated by a secondary burner (21) the gases from which are thenmixed with those from the distributor.

9. Incinerator as claimed in claim 8, comprising a jacket (25)encircling said heat exchanger through which a small portion of the gasto be treated passes, and a turbulence producer (27) at the outlet tothe heat treating means for mixing all the gas flowing out of said heattreating means. 7

l0. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 which comprisesa device for thefluid treatment of the gas produced therein, and comprising a heatexchanger (30) for receiving and cooling said gas by heat exchange withambient air without mixing said air with said gas, at least one firstchamber (33) positioned to receive gases from said heat exchanger andprovided with means (34) for spraying thereinto the maximum quantity ofliquid which will be completely evaporated therein so as to cause thecondensation of a small portion of the concentrated noxious contents ofthe gas, a bafile (35) positioned at the outlet of said first chamber(33) for precipitating said noxious products and directing them toward afirst outlet (36) at least one second chamber (37) at the outlet of saidbaffle (35) equipped with means (38) for spraying thereinto a quantityof liquid sufficient tosaturate all the gas passing therethrough andcondense the noxious contents thereof, another baffle (40) at the outletof said second chamber (37) adapted to facilitate the precipitation ofsaid condensed products and direct them toward a further outlet (39) andmeans (42) for exhausting the remaining gas.

ll. Incinerator as claimed in claim in which the liquid sprayed into thesecond chamber (37) is water and the liquid sprayed into the firstchamber (33) is the liquid recovered from the second chamber (39).

12. Incinerator as claimed in claim .l'in which said supply chute (7) isdirectly connected to the base of a vertical garbage chute (56) providedwith several input stations (57), each accompanied by a trap (58)positioned just below the station, each trap being provided with weightresponsive catch means (61) which permits the trap to swing when theweight of material thereon exceeds a predetermined minimum, and acounterweight (60) connected to close said trap when it has beenrelieved of the weight of said material.

13. Incinerator as claimed in claim I2 comprising a contact actuated bythe trap (58) immediately above the supply chute (7)when said trapswings open, which contact is connected to control the operation of theincinerator through clockwork means set to cause operation of theincinerator long enough to incinerate the quantity of material supportedby said trap.

14. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 comprising at least one wheeledcontainer (66) for filling said supply chute (7), a cradle (70) on whichsaid container is horizontally movable. inclined rails (74) in whichsaid cradle is movable, means (75, 76) for moving said cradle along saidrails and for swinging said cradle with said container into anupside-down position when they have reached the upper end of said rails,and a cover (55) for closing the supply chute (7) connected to beautomatically opened when said container swings, said container havingan upper rim (69) which fits closely into the upper end of said supplychute (7) when said container is upside down.

15. Incinerator as claimed in claim I in which the bottoms of saidgrating (4) and receptacle (3) are removable to permit the removal ofashes, and comprising means for supporting the material previouslysupported by said grating after such removal said supporting meanscomprising a lurality of individually movable bars (87) and means 2 9)for urging said bars into said material supporting position.

16. Incinerator as claimed in claim 15 in which the bars (87) are curvedand move in a part-circular path between guide rollers (88).

17. Incinerator as claimed in claim 15in which said supporting meanscomprises two independent sets of bars (87) positioned symmetrically ofsaid grate and adapted to be simultaneously actuated.

I8. Incinerator as claimed in claim 14 in which the removable bottoms ofboth the grating and thereceptacle comprise two pivotally mounted parts(79, 84), said incinerator further comprising normally vertical links(81, 85) for supporting said pivotally mounted parts in a horizontalposition, a horizontal rail (82) on which the lower end of each link isslidable, means for swinging said links to remove said grating andreceptacle, latch means preventing such removal until after saidsupporting means has been moved into supporting position, and preventingremoval of said supporting means from its supporting position until saidgrating and receptacle have resumed their horizontal position.

2. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 in which the peripheral walls ofthe distributor comprise a plurality of spaced rings (6a ) which slopeupwardly and outwardly.
 3. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 in whichthe distributor comprises an external wall (50) pierced by a pluralityof orifices and at least one central chimney (51) pierced by orificesaligned with the orifices in said external wall and connected thereto bya sloping cover (52) extending between the upper edges of the orificesin said chimney and outer wall.
 4. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1comprising a small boiler (9) and a pump (13) for supplying liquidsthereto, said boiler being positioned in the path of gases arising fromthe grating (4) and distributor (6), said boiler being formed by twowalls (9a, 9b ) spaced by a poor conductor of heat and provided withlateral openings (15) to admit hot gas and an upper outlet (16) forevacuation of gaseous or vaporized products into the incinerator abovethe grating.
 5. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 enclosed by doublewalls defining therebetween at least one space (45) connected to admitambient air at its bottom and lift said air to its top, as said aircools said walls, means (43) for evacuating a portion of said lifted airfrom said incinerator, means (48) for regulating the amount of airevacuated and means (46) for conducting the remainder of said lifted airto said distributor to assist in the combustion of the material therein,6. Incinerator as claimed in claim 5 in which the capacity of said airevacuation means is sufficient to enable it to evacuate all the ambientair admitted through the space between said double walls, so that in theabsence of material to be incinerated, the incinerator may operate as aheater.
 7. Incinerator as claimed in claim 5 comprising automaticregulating means including an adjustable thermostat (49) positioned torespond to the temperature of the gases at the outlet of the apparatusand adapted to regulate the operation of the burner and the evacuationof air when said temperature exceeds a predetermined maximum or fallsbelow a predetermined minimum.
 8. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1which comprises heat treating means in which the gas leaving theincinerator passes through a heat exchanger (23) heated by a secondaryburner (21) the gases from which are then mixed with those from thedistributor.
 9. Incinerator as claimed in claim 8, comprising a jacket(25) encircling said heat exchanger through which a small portion of thegas to be treated passes, and a turbulence producer (27) at the outletto the heat treating means for mixing all the gas flowing out Of saidheat treating means.
 10. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 whichcomprises a device for the fluid treatment of the gas produced therein,and comprising a heat exchanger (30) for receiving and cooling said gasby heat exchange with ambient air without mixing said air with said gas,at least one first chamber (33) positioned to receive gases from saidheat exchanger and provided with means (34) for spraying thereinto themaximum quantity of liquid which will be completely evaporated thereinso as to cause the condensation of a small portion of the concentratednoxious contents of the gas, a baffle (35) positioned at the outlet ofsaid first chamber (33) for precipitating said noxious products anddirecting them toward a first outlet (36) at least one second chamber(37) at the outlet of said baffle (35) equipped with means (38) forspraying thereinto a quantity of liquid sufficient to saturate all thegas passing therethrough and condense the noxious contents thereof,another baffle (40) at the outlet of said second chamber (37) adapted tofacilitate the precipitation of said condensed products and direct themtoward a further outlet (39) and means (42) for exhausting the remaininggas.
 11. Incinerator as claimed in claim 10 in which the liquid sprayedinto the second chamber (37) is water and the liquid sprayed into thefirst chamber (33) is the liquid recovered from the second chamber (39).12. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 in which said supply chute (7) isdirectly connected to the base of a vertical garbage chute (56) providedwith several input stations (57), each accompanied by a trap (58)positioned just below the station, each trap being provided with weightresponsive catch means (61) which permits the trap to swing when theweight of material thereon exceeds a predetermined minimum, and acounterweight (60) connected to close said trap when it has beenrelieved of the weight of said material.
 13. Incinerator as claimed inclaim 12 comprising a contact actuated by the trap (58) immediatelyabove the supply chute (7) when said trap swings open, which contact isconnected to control the operation of the incinerator through clockworkmeans set to cause operation of the incinerator long enough toincinerate the quantity of material supported by said trap. 14.Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 comprising at least one wheeledcontainer (66) for filling said supply chute (7), a cradle (70) on whichsaid container is horizontally movable, inclined rails (74) in whichsaid cradle is movable, means (75, 76) for moving said cradle along saidrails and for swinging said cradle with said container into anupside-down position when they have reached the upper end of said rails,and a cover (55) for closing the supply chute (7) connected to beautomatically opened when said container swings, said container havingan upper rim (69) which fits closely into the upper end of said supplychute (7) when said container is upside down.
 15. Incinerator as claimedin claim 1 in which the bottoms of said grating (4) and receptacle (3)are removable to permit the removal of ashes, and comprising means forsupporting the material previously supported by said grating after suchremoval, said supporting means comprising a plurality of individuallymovable bars (87) and means (92-99) for urging said bars into saidmaterial supporting position.
 16. Incinerator as claimed in claim 15 inwhich the bars (87) are curved and move in a part-circular path betweenguide rollers (88).
 17. Incinerator as claimed in claim 15 in which saidsupporting means comprises two independent sets of bars (87) positionedsymmetrically of said grate and adapted to be simultaneously actuated.18. Incinerator as claimed in claim 14 in which the removable bottoms ofboth the grating and the receptacle comprise two pivotally mounted parts(79, 84), said incinerator further comprising normally vertical links(81, 85) for supporting said pivotally mounted parts in a horizontalposition, A horizontal rail (82) on which the lower end of each link isslidable, means for swinging said links to remove said grating andreceptacle, latch means preventing such removal until after saidsupporting means has been moved into supporting position, and preventingremoval of said supporting means from its supporting position until saidgrating and receptacle have resumed their horizontal position.